2017: Year of John F. Kennedy Centennial.

It is historic and great for the present time and beyond, the Centennial of John F. Kennedy. John F. Kennedy was an admired and appreciated President. He died tragically, but his memory always lives. In the case of Puerto Rico, the name Kennedy has great significance for the great communication, friendship and shared ideals that he developed with Luis Muñoz Marín; an exemplary project was the Alliance for Progress.

In John, Robert and Edward "Ted" Kennedy (brothers with a respectable legacy and constructive vision in human and democratic principles), Puerto Rico had great friends who understood the creative evolutionary step of the Island as Commonwealth (In Spanish, Estado Libre Asociado). As governor and leader in the tradition founded by Muñoz Marín, Rafael Hernández Colon found in Ted, a great ally in Puerto Rican causes and the good work that was light for the entire Caribbean region.

I highlight two quotations from the column written by Rafael Hernández Colón in the Caribbean Business newspaper in 2009 before the death of Ted Kennedy:

·         " Along with millions of others in the U.S., in Puerto Rico and other parts of the world, I was moved by the words of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. To me, they struck a chord with the transformation brought about in Puerto Rico by Luis Muñoz Marín. Politics was about principle and ideals that would shape the future".

·         “The sun has set on Camelot but the dream to right wrong and heal suffering through honorable public service lives on in the inspiration placed in our hearts by John, Robert and Teddy Kennedy”.

Today, on JFK Centennial, the correct causes are validated for all generations.  

1961 Inaugural Address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLmiOEk59n8

November 13, 1961: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gjUtxACq4g

December 15, 1961: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szjft3QMsUs

Kennedy in San Juan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXC3OTShxRI

Peace Speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fkKnfk4k40

JFK changed the course of civil rights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S0-tB-kcao

The Kennedys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-vtlk784DY

Bobby Kennedy, for Humanity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fArgCaFb1c

Ted Kennedy: Historic Speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IDN4b58pTU

"The Dream Shall Never Die": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jDcPbSCluA